Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article /
Tai Tzu, Antonsen claim World Tour Finals badminton titles
Updated On: 01 February, 2021 07:30 AM IST | Bangkok | AFP
The all Danish men`s singles final was equally nail biting as Anders Antonsen denied Viktor Axelsen a third tournament win
Listen to this article :
Taiwan`s Tai Tzu-ying with the World Tour Finals winner`s medal and trophy yesterday. Pic/AFP
Top-ranked Tai Tzu-ying won a dramatic cliffhanger women`s badminton World Tour Final in Bangkok Sunday, blocking reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin`s bid for a hat-trick of titles in three weeks. The all Danish men`s singles final was equally nail biting as Anders Antonsen denied Viktor Axelsen a third tournament win. Marin beat the Taiwanese 26-year-old two weeks in a row during the previous Thailand Open tournament finals. The Spaniard had a shaky start Sunday as Tai exploited holes in her defence early, but Marin mounted a successful comeback in the later stages winning the opener 21-14. Marin was loud and fiesty in her verbal celebrations, but a visibly annoyed Tai soon found her own voice. In the second game Tai dominated early and dictated a commanding pace, eventually triumphing 21-8. The decider was filled with fast and furious rallies -- both players yo-yoed up and down the scoreboard -- but two late spectacular drop shots were critical in sealing Tai`s victory 21-19. "Before this match today I kept telling myself that I had to play patiently.
In the previous matches, all my mistakes were caused (by) my own impatience," Tai said. Marin was proud of her campaign in Bangkok. "I`m not really happy but I think it was really three good weeks for me. Two titles and a final, it`s very difficult for any player," Marin said. Thailand has hosted three consecutive badminton tournaments in a bio-secure coronavirus bubble, without spectators, to guard against the pandemic -- although there were four positive cases, including two players. Axelsen, ranked fourth, couldn`t control his nerves -- losing the first game 16-21 -- his body language showing immense frustration as errors piled up and shots landed wide. He managed to regroup to win the second game 21-5. But in the decider Antonsen had all the right answers, triumphing 21-17 to claim the game and the hour-long match against an increasingly ruffled Axelsen. "In the second game I was saving up energy for the third game because I knew I didn`t have the resources. I had to be very calculated. I decided it would be smarter to go for the third game," Antonsen said. Antonsen is the only man to beat Axelsen in more than a year.
Read Next Story
Trending Stories
Latest Photos
Latest Videos
Latest Web Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Mid-Day Fast
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT